Land levetee



Jan. 10, 1950- F. T. SMITH Re. 23,190

- J LAND LEVELER Original Filed April 12, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ill a. Y

INVENTOR. Fred T. Smith ATTORNEY F. T. SMITH LAND LEVELER Jan. 10, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed April 1.2, 1946 m oE JNVENTOR. Fred T. Srnif h ATTORNEY Jan. 10, 1950 F. 'r. SMITH LAND LEVELER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Origipal Filed April 12, 1946 FIG.

FIG.

INVENTQR. T. S mlfh Fred ATTORNEY Reissuecl Jan. 10, 1950 LARD LEVELER Eredz'lh, Smith, Golden, (1010..

Original No.. 2,428,857, dated, October 14, 19,47, SpriabNo; 6613660, April 12; 1946. Application for reissue April 2, 1948, Serial No. 21,735-

Matter enclosedin; heayy-brackets IE I-appears in the Original patent. but forms no part of this reissue specification matter -printed in italics indicates;theadditions made by reissue:

The present invention -relates to new andEuseful improvements in land level'ers designed primarily for useonirrigated farms to-l'evelfithe surface'of the soil so that: thewater may beevenly. distributed without causing water to be collected in low areas.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a tractor drawn-deviceofithischaracter by means of which the-same =maybe operatively connected: to the hydraulialiftafi the-tractor to raise the leveler out oi contact: with the ground while transporting the levelerfrom place to place.

A further object of the=-inventionisto provide a land levelerof this characterl including ascraper blade drawn. behind the tractor together with a gauge blade. drawn behind the-scraper blade and adjustable vertically toregulate the, depth of thescraper blade.-

Another important object of invention is: to provide a tractor drawa leveler having a scraper blade anda trailing ya-age blade linked to the tractor. by a quadranaularlinkage in manner that: a plane extending; for example,- throagh the gauge blade and" the scraperbladeis moved by thesaid'linkagerpmportionatelg toand the same: directiom astaxplaneincluding,- for example, the frontandrear: tractor mules;

A- still furtherobj ectzofther inventionsis-;to:-.pro-

vide a device of this character of simplaand prac-.

tical construction, which-is efll'ci'entand reliable in use, relatively inexpensive to: manufacture, which may beeasily and quickly attached in operative position tonal tractor-."wl-thout necessi tating any materialxchangesonalteraticnsltherein and which is otherwise welladapted for the. purposes for which thesame -is intended;

Otherv objects. and advantageslresidein the: details of construction andoperation as more fully. hereinafter described andclaimed, reference being had to the accompanying-drawings forming part hereof, wherein likanumeralswefer to'-.1like-parts throughounand inwhlch: I

Fig, 1 is a top plan views Fig. 2'isa longitudinal verticahviewt Fig. 3 isa transversesectional v-iew, takenon aline 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a:frontelevatlonaiivlew-of thascrapen blade.

Fig. 5 is. a transverse sectional viewv taken on, a. line 5-5 of Fig; 1'.

Fig. 6 is a. fragmentary sectional view ftaken' on.

Referring. 'nowto the; drawings indetail; where-- in for the purposeotiillustratiozr il'rave disclosed 2: a preferred embodiment ofinvention, the numeral 5' designates a tractor of=c0nventi0na1'-c0nstruction and which includes the rearaxle housing B-andhydrauliclift mechanism Tfrom--which a pair of lift armsaproject rearwardly inspaced' ingangle iron l4: Theangle iron is weldedor' otherwise suitably secured atthe uper edgeof a forwardly projectingwing lfl formedat each endof a scraper blade H: A: pair-0f rearwardly inclined braces l9 extendfrom the upper-connected' portionof thebars l3, to theupperedge of thescraper blade H;

A- pair of lower arms Zllfihave their frontends pivotedto the underside of the axle housing 6 by means of brackets-21' and the-rear ends of the arms 2llare pivoted 'to-theangle iron Mbymeans of lugs 22;

The rear ends of the lifting arms 8 are connected to the lower arms 20 by pivoted links' 23. Abracket or lug 24 is welded or -otherwise suitably secured to the rear OftheSCIaper-blELdB H at the center thereof and on which i-s-welded-aball -25. having a split socket 26'- swivelly mounted thereon. The edges of the socket Hare-provided with apertured cars 21 connected to eaclr other by bolts 28 for securing thesplit edge ofthe socketin position on the ball;

A pair of rearWardl-ydiverging'braces 29*have their front ends welded or otherwise suitably secured to the socket-26 and their-rear endssimilarly secured adj acent the outer endsof the rear- Wardly: curving gaugeor-drag blade 30 for dragging behind the scraper blade I 1.

The gauge blade 31! isverticallyadjusted by means ofa-member [rod]-=3"I- swivel1y connected at its rearend tothe central portion of the gauge blade30bymeans of a balland socket-joint- 32;

the member [rod] 31 beingincli'ned upwardly at itsiro-nt end and-formed adjacent its front portion with screw threads 33; threadedly engaged with aninternally-threaded'sleeve*34"swivel1y connected-to a plate 35 by means of a-ball and socket joi-nt' -36; The plate-35- is secured tw theupper' ends of the bars [3. The front end of the member [rod] 3! is formed with a crank handle 31.

The operation of my device is best understood by comparing the movements of two imaginary planes, the first plane being herein referred to as the tractor plane and includes, for example, the ground contacting surfaces of the front and rear tractor wheels, or the tractor axles. The second plane, herein referred to as the leveler plane, may, for example, include the ground contacting edges of the gauge and scraper blades. For ease of description it may be assumed that the frame of the tractor or other prime mover is generally straight and approximately horizontal, and that the leveler is in effect a triangle including a horizontal leg 29 a vertical leg 13, and a hypotenuse member 31.

As will be apparent from the drawings, particularly Fig. 2, the tractor plane is connected to the leveler plane by a quadrangular linkage defined by the members 10, 13, 20, and the tractor. Since the arms and 20 are all pivotally secured at their leading ends to the vertically spaced points fixed with respect to the tractor frame and also pivotally secured at their trailing ends to the member 13 at vertically spaced points, it may be seen that the leveler plane and in fact the entire triangular frame of the leveler will necessarily be tilted upwardly or downwardly as the tractor plane tilts upwardly or downwardly, and will move proportionately thereto in the same direction or sense.

Upward tilting of the tractor plane is produced either by raising the front wheels of the tractor or by lowering the rear wheels, it being immaterial which occurs, since in either event the tractor will have defined a change of ground level which requires the deposition of earth by the scraper blade. Upward tilting, i. e., elevation of the front wheels of the tractor plane, is communicated to the leveler plane through the quadrangular linkage, forcing the leveler plane to move in the same direction. This raises the scraper blade 17, thus allowing the deposition of earth carried by the blade. The reverse action of course occurs as the tractor plane tilts downwardly, since such action transmitted through the quadrangular linkage, tilts the leveler plane downwardly and thus forces the scraper blade more deeply into the soil.

The movement between the tractor and leveler planes is obviously proportionate and is fired by the dimensi ns of the quadrangular linkage. If, for example, the arms 10 and 20 are parallel and of equal length, the movement of the two planes will be equal, and the quadrangular linkage will be in effect a parallelogram. I have illustrated a linkage in which the upper arm 10 is somewhat longer than the lower arms 20. Therefore, for a given vertical angular displacement of the tractor plane downwardly from the horizontal, the downward tilting movement of the leveler plane will be less than the upward tilting of the leveler plane when the tractor plane is tilted upwardly an equal degree from the horizontal. Stated in other words, by using the type of linkage herein illustrated the leveler plane is undercontrolled in a downward direction and overcontrolled when moving in an upward or earth-discharging direction. Undercontrol in an upward direction and overcontrol in a downward direction may be obtained by reversing the relationship between the 4 tor 5 whereby high spots in the surface of the soil may be leveled and low spots filled by dumping the soil from the scraper blade I1 therein as the tractor moves over such low spots.

The scraper blade [1, gauge blade 30 and frontwheels of the tractor are maintained on a horizontal plane so that as the scraper blade ll passes over a low spot the dirt will be deposited therein.]

When the device is being moved to and from the field, the hydraulic lift arms 8 are raised whereby the lever arms 2|] will be swung upwardly to raise the scraper blade I! and gauge blade 30.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the construction, operation and advantages of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims [claim].

What is claimed is:

[In combination with a soil leveler having a transverse scraper blade, a transverse gage blade of substantially the same width as the scraper blade and positioned in rear of the scraper blade, universal means for connecting the gage blade to substantially the center of the scraper blade, whereby the gage blade may pivot in all directions with respect to the scraper blade, and means on the soil leveler for raising and lowering the gage blade with respect to the scraper blade] 2. Apparatus for leveling land of the type adapted to be drawn by a tractor and the like comprising a scraper blade, a first member escten'ding upwardly from the scraper blade and fixed thereto, a gauge blade, a rigid, generally horizontal elongated second member connecting the gauge blade and the scraper blade, a third rigid member extending upwardly and forwardly from the gauge blade to the first member, defining thereby a triangular frame rigid in a vertical plane, and a freely floating quadrilateral linkage for floatingly connecting the scraper blade and the first member to the tractor so as to allow the scraper blade and the first member to be freely movable in a vertical direction with respect to the tractor, said quadrilateral linkage including a plurality of vertically spaced rigid arms each pivotally secured at one end to the said first member at vertically spaced points and adapted for pivotal attachment at their opposite ends to the tractor at vertically spaced intervals for movement in a generally vertical plane, whereby tilting movement of the tractor in a generally vertical plane is transmitted through the quadrilateral linkage due to the reaction of the gauge blade against the ground so as to tilt the triangular frame in the same direction as the tractor.

3. A land leveling implement for attachment to a tractor and the like having front and rear wheels and vertically spaced rearwardly projecting arms pivotally secured to the tractor for movement in a vertical plane, said implement including a scraper blade having a rigid, upwardly projecting first member fired thereto, means for pivotally securing the rearwardly projecting arms to said scraper blade and first member at vertically spaced points for freely floating movement in a generally vertical plane, a gauge member, a rigid, generally horizontal elongated tongue connecting the gauge member and the scraper blade, and a rigid, forwardly and upwardly extending second member connecting the gauge member and said first member.

4. The combination with a tractor having spaced front and rear wheels and vertically spaced rearwardly extending rigid arms pivotally secured to the tractor for movement in a vertical plane, of a land leveler comprising a scraper unit including a transverse scraper blade and a rigid, upwardly extending first member fixed to the blade, means for pivotally attaching the trailing ends of the rigid arms at vertically spaced points on the scraper unit, thereby defining a freely floating quadrangular linkage between the land leveler and the tractor freely movable in a generally vertical plane, a gauge member, a rigid elongated tongue on the gauge member, a rigid second member fixed to the gauge member and projecting forwardly and upwardly therefrom, means for pivotally attaching the tongue and second member at vertically spaced points to the scraper unit for movement about a vertical axis only,

5. A land leveler for use with a prime mover having a frame comprising a triangular leveler frame rigid in a vertical plane and including an upright leg, a generally horizontal leg extending rearwardly from said upright leg, and a hypotenuse member, a transverse scraper blade on the frame near the leading or forward corner thereof, a gauge on the triangular frame near the trailing or rearward corner thereof, and means forming a quadrangular linkage for floatingly connecting the triangular frame and the prime mover, said means including a plurality of vertically spaced rigid arms each pivotally secured at their trailing ends to the upright leg at vertically spaced points for movement in generally vertical planes, and secured at their opposite ends at vertically spaced points fixed with respect to the prime mover frame whereby tilting movement of the prime mover frame in a generally vertical plane is transmitted through the quadrangular linkage to the triangular frame and tilts the triangular frame in the same direction as the prime mover frame.

6. The structure defined in claim 4, which includes means for increasing and decreasing the length of the hypotenuse.

7. The structure defined in claim 4, which includes means for pivotally connecting the hypotenuse member and the horizontal leg of the triangular frame to the upright leg for pivotal movement about a substantially vertical axis.

FRED T. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent, or the original patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,857,479 Boyer May 10, 1932 1,968,412 Lull July 31, 1934 2,192,254 Beadle Mar. 5, 1940 2,277,889 Shumaker Mar. 31, 1942 2,359,121 Kinnan Sept. 26, 1944 2,433,019 Arps Dec. 23, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 559,336 Great Britain Feb. 15, 1944 

